I. The Problematic: The domain of testimony; What is testimony?; Objections and clarifications; II. The Tradition: Testimony, observation, and the reductive approach; Deciding for testimony; The analogical approach; Scottish fundamentalism; III. The Solution: The status of testimony; Language and mind; IV: The Puzzles: Astonishing reports; The disappearance of history; Dretske's drinker; V. The Applications: Collingwood and historical testimony; Mathematical knowledge and reliable authority; Psychology and the law; Experts and the law
Summary
The role of testimony in the getting of reliable belief or knowledge is a central but neglected epistemological issue. In this work of original philosophy, Professor Coady explores the nature of testimony and the philosophical debates about it, in order to show how it might be defended as a source of knowledge
